Without Salary For 15 Months, Teachers Request Reopening Of Colleges For Students’ Sake

Teachers of 22 engineering colleges under Pune’s Sinhgad Institutes have not been paid their salaries for more than a year. They have been protesting against the non-payment of the salaries, yet their voices fail to reach concerned ears.

“We have been paid basic salary since October 2016, that too after pleading with them several times. The dates of payment are irregular. This November’s salary has not been paid at all. We are unable to work and want our salaries immediately in full. Only then will we resume teaching,” a teacher, while protesting on December 19, 2017, told The Times of India.

They said that the basic salary makes up only 40% of the salary. Till October 2017, they were being paid only their basic wage after several requests. After that, they were not even being paid their basic salary.

Professor says

One of the professors, who served in one of Sinhgad Institute’s college in Lonavala, told The Logical Indian “I worked with the Institute for four years, and the salary was always irregular. The salary would be credited after three months or four months. After a certain point in time, they started paying our salaries once in six months.”

She says that all the professors took up the issue with the Institute once in Diwali and they assured the payment of salaries. But the catch was that they said that only the basic salary would be paid.

“We all resumed teaching because the students’ future was in jeopardy,” she further added.

Every time the authorities concerned in the Institute would say that the government did not release the fund for the students who have been studying under scholarship.

“This did not stop them from doing construction work or hold fests where they invited international celebrities,” she said.

Among all this, it is the students who have been suffering the most as they did not have regular classes.

AICTE cancels admission

All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) said that the colleges, managed by Sinhgad, were put under ‘no admission’ category after the management failed to meet the February 2 deadline for depositing the dues in the bank accounts of its staff. The salaries of the staff of the 22 institutes have not been paid for over 15 months. The High Court stayed this order on February 10.

The High Court said that as the salaries were not paid for more than 15 months, they cannot enrol fresh students in any of their institutes until and unless all dues are cleared.

To rescue thousands of students from losing a year, the faculty of Sinhgad group of institutes have decided to seek permission to reopen the colleges. In a letter addressed to AICTE, Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU), and the Directorate of Technical Education, Maharashtra, the agitating teaching and non-teaching staff of the institutes have requested the regulatory bodies to give them the permission to reopen the colleges and begin classes for the students.

The Logical Indian sympathises with the professors and students of the Institutes and hopes that the payment of salaries is done as soon as possible.

Partner Story

This Mother’s Day, Let Us Make A Real Difference In Our Mother’s Life

“All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother.” – Abraham Lincoln

Mothers play a crucial role in our lives. Since we were little, they held our hands, acting as our guide into the world. They took care of all our needs – from teaching us how to hold a spoon, cooking delicious meals for us, dropping us to school and sitting with us while we struggled with our math homework – mothers have been there through thick and thin.

On the special occasion of Mother’s Day, Friends Adult Diapers has a beautiful message for each of us – treat your mother the way she has treated you all her life.

It was our mothers who stayed up all night taking care of us when we fell sick; it was her who help us with our homework. This Mother’s Day, remember to take care and support your mother the way she took care of you all these years.

The minds and bodies of our ageing parents dwindle as they grow even older, and somewhere in the incoherence of understanding their thoughts, children lose patience. They spend less and less time with their parents and hire others to look after them. A study by HelpAge India gives accounts of the elderly, most of whom testify to verbal abuse, neglect and disrespect by their children. Old people rely on their children for both emotional and financial support but, often times are not given the needed care.

There is little difference in how we were as toddlers and how parents are as senior citizens. They couldn’t understand the gibber we uttered then, yet taught us different languages. We were financially dependent on them till at least 18 years of age yet, they never said no to giving us pocket money. Why cannot we echo the same patience our parents showed for so many years?

Our parents have an unconditional love for us. They made sure all our needs are cared for and we never feel alone. When we grow up and our parents enter old age, they require the same care and affection. They would be delighted if we spent time with them after classes or work, make tea or cook for them and also help them with household chores when they have too many things at hand.

It is our responsibility to stand with our parents when they are weak; it is our responsibility to cook for them when they are too tired, and it is our responsibility to take care of them when they fall sick.

Mother’s Day is a celebration in honour of motherhood, a tribute to maternal bonds and the influence of mothers in society. Let us make a real difference by showing how much we truly care for our mothers.

Friends Adult Diapers has taken a wonderful initiative in this regard. The most precious gift for a mother is her child. So why not take this as an opportunity to shower her with the same love? After all, she deserves it for being with you through every obstacle and every hardship that you faced.